The portfolio bounced back significantly largely as the vast majority of remaining premium in cocoa futures options positions decayed, and the silver positions were exited at better prices than seen at the end of January.

For equities, the portfolio is heavily long, mostly in covered calls. Some short call positions in inverse 2x etfs such as $CRCD $CONI $MSTX also worked well.

What didn’t work? Took hits in $DUOL cash-secured puts after the popular app maker posted results and guidance that were worse than expected, and exited those at a loss. Also saw a large decline in a covered call on $FVRR after that gig service marketplace guided lower. Losses in a short of silver miner $HYMC also continue to widen. That position originated from naked calls sold at $25. I continue to sell puts against the short each time they expire (now in March $35). Aim is not to break even, but to exit the position efficiently and minimize the loss. One thing I aim to better understand in this experiment is when it is better to rip the band-aid off, and when it is better to attempt a “stock repair” approach.

I put on a number of software-related positions during February. Options premia are high in software due to the volatility and price declines in that sector. Many of the new positions are either covered calls or cash-secured puts in cyber-security names which seem robust to me, including $QLYS $FIVN $CLBT $ZS. Others are in software names that are more exposed to disruption, but for which I believe the premia more than accounts for near-term risk, such as $GDDY $MNDY $THRY and $ZM ( ▲ 5.25% ).

Other equities I bought outright for dividends include $TFSL $OWL $DSWL $GBDC $HTGC and my the only ETF in my portfolio, $BLOX. I normally hate high-yield ETFs but this one seems a bit better than the rest because it uses both calls and put-spreads thereby generating 30+% income while doing nearly as well as bitcoin itself. Hope to learn whether high-yield ETFs should be a hard no, or an instrument occasionally worth including.

Also put on a few short futures options positions that may get wrecked based on the Iran news, or may do fine: short a few April crude call options, a few April and May silver call options, and a few May sugar puts. I write this on the weekend with little visibility as to how those markets will open or perform after volume hits on Monday.

Finally, I am experimenting with a new form of yield: I enrolled in the stock yield enhancement program from my broker, InteractiveBrokers $IBKR. When shares are lent out for a fee, IBKR gives you half the fee. So far the return has been trivial.